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 There is increasing pressure on local authorities to reduce the spiralling electricity costs associated with their lighting while tackling the environmental pressures of light pollution and CO2 emissions. With councils typically paying four times as much today for their electricity as they were five years ago, the pressure on the public purse has been growing. At the same time, it is estimated that street lighting across the whole of the UK results in more than a million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
 SCOTS is part of a team of experts that has been reviewing the whole issue and has commissioned a series of reports which conclude that councils across the UK have the opportunity to save around £35 million of taxpayers’ money each year, cut an estimated 150,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and reduce light pollution by adopting new approaches to the way they light streets and traffic signs.
The other partners in the initiative the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport, TfL (Transport for London), SCOTS (Society of Chief Officers in Transportation for Scotland), the ILE (Institution of Lighting Engineers), Transport Scotland and the HA (Highways Agency).
Publication of the reports follows research, much of which was undertaken by TRL (the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory) drawing on information from trials run by individual local authorities.
The approach suggested by the new reports comes with a series of measures which take advantage of recent rapid changes in technology and include dimming lights at times of lower usage to levels that still maintain road safety and pedestrian security. Authorities are recommended not to over-specify lighting levels with resulting wastage in energy and increased light pollution. Local authorities are, therefore, urged to review their lighting policies to see whether they exceed British and European Standards and to establish the correct level of lumination for different road types.
The research shows that each year a dimming scheme could save, over £1,500 per kilometre of main traffic route and almost £500 per kilometre in residential areas. This could typically result in CO2 emission reductions of just under eight tonnes per kilometre of main traffic routes and 2.5 tonnes per kilometre in residential areas every year. Investment in control equipment would be a pre requisite.
The studies show that revisions to design codes and targeted investment could reduce both energy costs and CO2 emissions by an estimated 15 per cent.
There is also said to be major potential for savings in the approach to the lighting of traffic signs and illuminated bollards. Authorities should also consider removing unnecessary signs, converting signs which no longer need to be directly illuminated to retro-reflective sign faces, and existing signs that are lit day and night should be converted to run on photo electric cells as soon as possible.
On the issue of switching street lights off, it is concluded that the safety and security benefits of lighting are substantial and that care needs to be taken that switching lighting off doesn’t impact on crime, personal security and night-time accidents. Potential savings in energy and CO2 need to be balanced against these wider community benefits. Where it is considered safe and practical to remove or switch off lighting, consultation should be undertaken to test community views.
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